People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don't think that's true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world. – Kim Culbertson

Saturday, August 24, 2013 (DAYS 537 - 548)It’s a Saturday night feast! Tonight a group of us have headed over to another guesthouse, Taileks, for a traditional family style Thai dinner. I was told this was the largest group they have served, since this it typically a weekly event for the guests as well as couchsurfers and other travelers. Moving aside the five tables and chairs since we have close to 40 people, they lay out bamboo mats as our makeshift table and cushion for the seating. As the room is bustling with conversation from one end to the other, we are sitting lined up facing each other as if this is a food challenge standoff. Soon dishes beginning coming out of the kitchen and it seems as though each dish is more amazing than the last. Khao kha mu, Khao khluk kapi, Khao mu krop, Khao phat, Khao phat kaeng khiao wan, and of course the well known traditional Pad Thai are just some of the delicious items on tonight’s menu. After everyone has eaten to the point of bursting, the conversation continues and I find myself talking with a group of American English teachers that are on break from their respective locations–China, Cambodia, Thailand, and one particular girl, Jo whom is teaching in Vietnam, strikes me as she has taken part in some video production and so we share our backgrounds as well as sharing how her boyfriend and my girlfriend are handling being halfway around the world for an extended period of time. As the night continues we engage in the typical travel formality of adding one another on Facebook and talk about checking out some new areas of the city since she is headed back to Ho Chi Minh, formerly and still known by the locals as Saigon, some time in the next few days. By the end of the night, I am still feeling the jet lag of traveling across 12 different time zones and decide to call it a night just after 10pm.

Sunday, I’ve decided to take the BTS Skytrain to Mo Chit and spend the afternoon wandering around Chatuchak Market aka JJ’s Market, which is boasted as the world’s largest weekend market. The history of the Chatuchak Weekend Market owes its origin to Field Marshal Phibulsongkram, the late prime minister of Thailand (1938-1944, 1948-1957), who came up with the idea of setting up a flee Market in every town. As a result, the first flea market in Bangkok was held at Sanam Luang and was called Sanam Luang flea Market. However, there was time when the place was needed for other special functions and the flea market was then relocated to Saranrom Palace and settled there for 8 years. After that, it was moved again to Sanam Chai. But because of the limited space, it had to be moved back to Sanam Luang. In the same year, the government issued a policy to turn Sanam Luang into be the venue to celebrate 200-year-anniversary of Bangkok, which would be held in 1982. Thus, it was decided that the flea market would be held at the Phaholyothin area from then on and it is later name Chattuchak Weeked Market after the nearby park under the same name. Noticing that there are six stops before reaching the Mo Chit station, with each stop the train adds more and more passengers, primarilly all tourists and when we arrive there is an explosion over stimuli with the enormity and chaos of the market. While there is an actual entrance to the market, even before you reach this point the sidewalks and streets are lined with vendors and small restaurants where owners wave menus in your face as they attempt to entice you to take a seat. The smells change with each step from good, to great, to down right awful, but it makes me laugh at just how this organized chaos tends to work and be relatively organized. The layout of the market is not spread out over several miles, but is almost an octogon shape that has many inner rings or narrow walkways where there are hundreds of stalls. Here you can find and purchase almost anything. From clothing to food, artwork, home furnishings, even live animals, it is certainly a must visit if you are in Bangkok over a weekend, since it is closed during the weekdays.

After back and forth messages, Jo, Benjamin, and I decide to take the local river boat and visit Wat Saket, or to most foreigners, Golden Mount–yet another Buddhist temple, but the reason for this visit is for the views of the city. As we are walking up the stairs around the spiral shaped temple, we are pleasantly surprised as intricately placed cold-water misting sprayers provide a relief from the heat. After walking around the top and taking photos of the city I’ve come to realize that once you’ve seen one temple they all begin to appear to be the same with only slight differences, and when some cost more than $10 for entry–with that much money I would rather go to the cinema and watch a film in 4D in the VIP section with all-you-can-eat popcorn. Later in the evening, we find ourselves on Khaosan Road and even while brushing away the constant bombardment of vendors, Benjamin and I cave and indulge in eating scorpions. Everyone asks how they taste, and my explanation is they taste a bit like salty charcoal. There’s no green squirting guts oozing from their body, it’s just more of a mental hurdle to overcome than anything and since I am all for trying new experiences when I travel I could think of no better time to overcome this previous fear. The rest of the night I couldn't stop yelling that I had a fricken scorpion in my stomach though, so I was quite proud of this accomplishment. And after this experience, my friend Grace that I met from Singapore was doing a university study of why Westerners are unaccepting of eating insects. I tried to explain this to her and it just ended in continual laughter. She did however convince me to eat a cricket and a large grasshopper. When in Rome I suppose. When in Rome.

Challenges are what make life itneresting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. – Joshua J. Marine

Friday, August 23, 2013 (DAY 536)My first day in Bangkok, and I can’t help taking in everything around me–the sights, the smells, the sounds, the complete opposite culture of what I have been used to in Latin America as well as growing up in the States. It’s incredible. This afternoon a small group of us decide to explore the city. I am still recovering from my massive jet lag, but I think the endorphins I’m feeling is keeping me going. We start out by taking the BTS train line to the MRT and get off at Pier 1 where we take the local river boat for less than .50 cents to Pier 8 to visit our first stop, Wat Po, a buddhist monastery. After fighting the heat we decide to have lunch at the Chibad House, which is nearby the infamous Khaosan Road.

Prior to arriving in Bangkok, I had emailed on several HelpX volunteer places both to save some money and to take my time in getting accustomed to an entirely new region of the world. Thankfully I found a place called Siam Journey Guesthouse and primarily had communication with their manager Shane, an American from Alabama that has spent time in Thailand on and off for several years and knows the city unbelievably well. At the beginning the hostel was a nice change as it is only a 14-bed place with a homey feeling. I did notice however, that the owner was a bit absent from understanding his own business and since Shane had been managing the hostel for nine months he was the one that trained me. Having previous hostel experience in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama I was quite familiar with most booking systems and just the overall atmosphere you want to try to create for the guests, which are of course backpackers. When I first accepted their offer to volunteer for accommodation it was great because Shane did such a good job training and we were only required to work one day a week and do some very minor chores. Since I am still catching up from my writings there will be things to come, and it’s unfortunate that I am writing this from another hostel instead of the place that I was promised to volunteer at until I left for South Korea. I absolutely do not want to seem malicious, but as backpackers we rely on honest opinions about so much information including places to stay and the types of businesses you want to support or volunteer for. Anyways, my second day in Bangkok is still a harsh adjustment to the heat and humidity of Southeast Asia. I already knew it was going to be relatively brutal but wow it smacks you in the face from the moment you step outside the airport, especially when I’ve come from LA where the evenings cooled down to the low 70s, but as usual I am taking things in stride and know that eventually my body will adjust to this new climate.

About the Author

My name is Troy and I gave up a promising 12-year career to travel the world! Now after more than 4-years of continuous global travel, I've lived an incredible life and my goal is to inspire others to achieve their dreams!